US20090235287A1 - Conveyance Device and Recording Meduim Drive Device - Google Patents

Conveyance Device and Recording Meduim Drive Device Download PDF

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Publication number
US20090235287A1
US20090235287A1 US12/083,225 US8322506A US2009235287A1 US 20090235287 A1 US20090235287 A1 US 20090235287A1 US 8322506 A US8322506 A US 8322506A US 2009235287 A1 US2009235287 A1 US 2009235287A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
guide
disc
recording medium
arm
guide lever
Prior art date
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Abandoned
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US12/083,225
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English (en)
Inventor
Yoshihiro Ichikawa
Eiji Hoshinaka
Yosuke Amitani
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Pioneer Corp
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Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
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Assigned to PIONEER CORPORATION reassignment PIONEER CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: AMITANI, YOSUKE, HOSHINAKA, EIJI, ICHIKAWA, YOSHIHIRO
Publication of US20090235287A1 publication Critical patent/US20090235287A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
    • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
    • G11B17/00—Guiding record carriers not specifically of filamentary or web form, or of supports therefor
    • G11B17/02—Details
    • G11B17/04—Feeding or guiding single record carrier to or from transducer unit
    • G11B17/05—Feeding or guiding single record carrier to or from transducer unit specially adapted for discs not contained within cartridges
    • G11B17/051—Direct insertion, i.e. without external loading means
    • G11B17/0515—Direct insertion, i.e. without external loading means adapted for discs of different sizes

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a transfer unit for inserting and ejecting a disc recording medium, and a recording-medium driver provided with the transfer unit.
  • Patent Document 1 discloses a disc reproducer that transfers a disc by a transferring roller and positions the disc above a turntable by a positioning mechanism.
  • the positioning mechanism includes: right and left positioning levers rotatably supported by fulcrum pins and crossed with each other; a switching lever having fulcrum pins engaged with engaging holes of the positioning levers, the switching lever being rotated by a solenoid.
  • a central sensor, right and left sensors provided respectively to the right and the left of the central sensor and an outer sensor are provided so as to judge the diameter of a disc inserted from the disc insertion opening.
  • the switching lever When the insertion of a large-diameter disc is detected by the sensor(s), the switching lever is rotated to rotate the right and left positioning levers so that positioning pins are the most remotely spaced apart from each other. On the other hand, when the insertion of a small-diameter disc is detected, the right and left positioning levers are rotated so that the positioning pins comes the closest to each other.
  • Patent Document 1 JP-A-02-118955 (pages 3 to 5, FIGS. 1 to 7)
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer unit and a recording-medium driver that can favorably hold a disc without hampering a rotation of the disc.
  • a transfer unit includes: a guide member that guides a disc recording medium to a position where a disc holder disposed inside a unit body is capable of holding the recording medium, the guide member being movable in a direction to be close to or away from the recording medium; a guide-movement controlling member that moves the guide member away from the recording medium while the disc holder holds the recording medium.
  • a recording-medium driver includes: the above-described transfer unit; the disc holder that holds the recording medium transferred by the transfer unit; a mount on which the disc holder is provided, the mount being movable in an up-and-down direction; an information processor that performs at least one of writing information in the recording medium held by the disc holder and reading information from the recording medium; and the unit body that internally houses the transfer unit, the disc holder, the mount and the information processor, the unit body comprising an insertion-and-ejection opening for inserting and ejecting the recording medium.
  • FIG. 1 is a top view showing an inside of a unit body of a disc unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2A is an enlarged top view showing a push arm provided inside the disc unit, in which the push arm is not in engagement with a guide lever.
  • FIG. 2B is an enlarged top view showing the push arm provided inside the disc unit, in which the push arm is in engagement with the guide lever.
  • FIG. 2C is an enlarged top view showing the push arm provided inside the disc unit, in which the push arm in FIG. 2B is moved toward a left wall.
  • FIG. 3 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disc unit when an insertion of a large-diameter disc is initiated or when the large-diameter disc has been ejected.
  • FIG. 4 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disc unit when a large-diameter disc is being transferred.
  • FIG. 5 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disc unit when a large-diameter disc has been inserted.
  • FIG. 6 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disc unit when a large-diameter disc is being clamped against a turntable.
  • FIG. 1 is a top view schematically showing an inside of a disc unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2A is an enlarged top view showing a push arm provided inside the disc unit, in which the push arm is not in engagement with a guide lever.
  • FIG. 2B is an enlarged top view showing the push arm provided inside the disc unit, in which the push arm is in engagement with the guide lever.
  • FIG. 2C is an enlarged top view showing the push arm, in which the push arm in FIG. 2B is moved toward a left wall.
  • the numeral 100 denotes a disc unit serving as a recording medium driver according the embodiment of the present invention.
  • the disc unit 100 performs such information processing as reading-processing or recording-processing on an optical disc 1 (disc recording medium) detachably mounted thereon, thereby reading information recorded in a recording surface (not shown) provided on at least one surface of the optical disc 1 or recording a variety of information on the recording surface of the optical disc 1 .
  • an example of the disc unit 100 is a so-called thinned slot-in type unit that is mounted on an electrical equipment such as a portable personal computer
  • the disc unit 100 itself may be configured as, for instance, a game machine or a reproducer that performs processing for recording (e.g.
  • the disc unit 100 can accept a large-diameter disc 1 A having a diameter of 12 cm and a small-diameter disc 1 B having a diameter of 8 cm as the optical disc 1 .
  • the disc recording medium is not limited to the optical disc 1 but may be other disc recording mediums such as a magnetic disc or a magnetic optical disc.
  • the disc unit 100 includes a substantially box-shaped unit body 10 having an inner space, an exemplary material of which is a metal. In the unit body 10 , a lower side of the unit body 10 shown in FIG. 1 may be referred to as a front face 10 A, a left lateral wall of the unit body 10 shown in FIG.
  • a left wall 10 B a right lateral wall of the unit body 10 shown in FIG. 1 may be referred to as a right wall 10 C and a side opposite to the front face 10 A of the unit body 10 shown in FIG. 1 may be referred to as a rear face 10 D.
  • the unit body 10 internally includes a disc processor 20 (a so-called traverse mechanism), a transfer unit 30 for transferring the optical disc 1 , and a control circuit (not shown) serving as a circuit board.
  • the front face 10 A of the unit body 10 is provided with a slot 11 (insertion-and-ejection opening) for inserting/ejecting the optical disc 1 , the slot 11 extending in the right-and-left direction of FIG. 1 .
  • the disc processor 20 includes a plate-like mount 21 whose one end is swingably supported by the unit body 10 , an exemplary material of which is metal plate.
  • the mount 21 longitudinally extends from the left wall 10 B of the unit body 10 near the front face 10 A toward the center position of the unit body 10 .
  • the mount 21 is longitudinally cut out to substantially centrally form a longitudinal processor opening 21 A.
  • a disc rotation driver 22 is disposed near a first end of the processor opening 21 A of the mount 21 , i.e., substantially at the center of the unit body 10 .
  • the disc rotation driver 22 includes a spindle motor (not shown), and a turntable 23 (disc holder) provided integrally with an output shaft of the spindle motor.
  • the spindle motor is controllably connected to the control circuit and driven by electricity supplied from the control circuit.
  • the turntable 23 which is provided substantially at the center inside the unit body 10 , is a driver for rotating the optical disc 1 .
  • the mount 21 includes an information processor 24 .
  • the information processor 24 which is supported by a pair of guide shafts 25 while bridging the guide shafts 25 , is moved toward and away from the turntable 23 within the processor opening 21 A by a moving mechanism (not shown).
  • the information processor 24 has a pickup that includes: a light source (not shown); a pick-up lens 24 A for converging light of the light source; and a light sensor (not shown) for detecting specular light reflected from the optical disc 1 .
  • the transfer unit 30 includes: a transfer motor 31 disposed in the unit body 10 to be operationally controlled by, for instance, the control circuit; and a link mechanism 32 operated by driving of the transfer motor in an interlocking manner.
  • the link mechanism 32 includes: a disc guide mechanism 41 disposed inside the unit body 10 near the slot 11 and the left wall 10 B; a disc-diameter detecting mechanism 42 disposed inside the unit body 10 near the slot 11 and the right wall 10 C; a disc ejecting mechanism 43 for ejecting the optical disc mounted on the turntable 23 ; and a first driving cam 44 and a second driving cam 45 for swinging the mount 21 .
  • the disc guide mechanism 41 includes: a guide lever 411 (guide member) for guiding the insertion and ejection of the optical disc 1 ; a disc guide 412 connected to the guide lever 411 near the front face 10 A; a bridge plate 413 as a protection plate; an 8 cm arm 414 rotatably provided on the bridge plate 413 ; and a push arm 416 as a guide engaging member.
  • the guide member according to the present invention is provided by the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 while a guide-movement controlling member is provided by the push arm 416 and a slide stopper 424 serving as a later-described movement controlling member.
  • the transfer unit of the present invention is provided by the guide lever 411 , the disc guide 412 , the push arm 416 and the slide stopper 424 .
  • the guide lever 411 is a rod-like member that is longitudinal in the disc inserting/ejecting direction.
  • a plastic guide portion 411 A for guiding the movement of the optical disc 1 in the inserting/ejecting direction is fixed on an inward lateral of the guide lever 411 (lateral facing the direction in which the optical disc 1 is inserted).
  • the guide portion 411 A which is provided with a guide groove concaved toward the left wall 10 B, guides the optical disc 1 by slidably contacting the periphery of the optical disc 1 with the guide groove.
  • the lateral of the guide lever 411 is inwardly bent where the lateral is continued from the guide portion 411 A near the rear face 10 D, thereby restricting the movement of the optical disc 1 .
  • the guide portion 411 A is provided with a rotation-restricting pin 411 C (engaging portion) that downwardly protrudes.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is positioned so as not to interfere with the mount 21 when the guide lever 411 is moved to a position corresponding to the small-diameter disc 1 B near the disc guide 412 (i.e., near the front face 10 A).
  • a guide pin 411 B that penetrates from the top to the bottom is fixed on an end of the guide lever 411 adjacent to the rear face 10 D.
  • the guide pin 411 B is locked by the later-described bridge plate 413 and the 8 cm arm 414 .
  • the disc guide 412 is rotatably connected to an end of the guide lever 411 adjacent to the front face 10 A.
  • the end of the guide lever 411 adjacent to the front face 10 A is further provided with a plate spring 411 D opposed to the left wall 10 B.
  • the plate spring 411 D inwardly biases a connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 when the guide lever 411 is moved toward the left wall 10 B. With this arrangement, the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 is prevented from bending outwardly.
  • the disc guide 412 is longitudinally formed, whose first end is rotatably mounted in the vicinity of the left wall 10 B of the unit body 10 .
  • a second end of the disc guide 412 is rotatably connected to the end of the guide lever 411 .
  • the end of the guide lever 411 adjacent to the front face 10 A can be rotationally moved along a circular arc described around the first end of the disc guide 412 with radius of a length of the disc guide 412 .
  • An inwardly-protruding flange 412 A is formed below the disc guide 412 .
  • a slide-contact surface 412 B, with which the optical disc 1 is slidably in contact when being inserted, is formed along the flange 412 A.
  • the connecting portion of the disc guide 412 and the guide lever 411 serves as a pressing portion 412 C for pressing the periphery of the optical disc 1 toward the front face 10 A when the optical disc 1 is ejected.
  • the bridge plate 413 extends both in the right and left directions near the rear face 10 D of the unit body 10 .
  • the bridge plate 413 covers the above-described control circuit from the above so as to protect the control circuit.
  • the bridge plate 413 is provided with a leading guide groove 415 (leading guide portion) that extends from a rear corner of the unit body 10 toward the inner central position.
  • the leading guide groove 415 includes: an arc groove 415 A (first guide) formed to be substantially parallel to the rotation locus described by the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 ; a linear groove 415 B (second guide) continued from the arc groove 415 A to extend substantially along the inserting/ejecting direction of the optical disc 1 ; and an oblique groove (second groove) continued from the linear groove 415 B to be oblique to the linear groove 415 B by a predetermined angle toward the center position of the unit body 10 .
  • the leading guide groove 415 is engaged with the guide pin 411 B that downwardly protrudes from the guide lever 411 , thereby guiding the movement of the guide lever 411 .
  • the linear groove 415 B is arranged such that a perpendicular line drawn from the center of the turntable 23 to the extension of the linear groove 415 B substantially equals to the radius of the small-diameter disc 1 B.
  • the bridge plate 413 rotatably supports the 8 cm arm 414 near the right wall 10 C.
  • the bridge plate 413 is provided with arm restricting grooves 413 A centrally and near the right wall 10 C.
  • the arm restricting grooves 413 A are arced around the support position of the 8 cm arm 414 to restrict a rotation region of the 8 cm arm 414 .
  • the bridge plate 413 also rotatably supports an assist arm 431 of the later-described disc ejecting mechanism 43 near the right wall 10 C.
  • An assist restricting groove 413 B is arced around the rotation center of the assist arm 431 .
  • an ejection arm 432 meshed with the assist arm 431 is rotatably supported.
  • the bridge plate 413 is provided with a control groove 413 C near the front face 10 A, which longitudinally extends in the right-and-left direction.
  • the 8 cm arm is rotatably supported by the bridge plate 413 near the right wall 10 C.
  • the 8 cm arm 414 includes an arm restricting pin 414 A that downwardly protrudes.
  • the arm restricting pin 414 A is locked with the arm restricting groove 413 A of the bridge plate 413 .
  • the distal end of the 8 cm arm 414 is provided with a guide link groove 414 B that extends along the longitudinal direction of the 8 cm arm 414 .
  • the guide link groove 414 B is locked with the guide pin 411 B that upwardly protrudes from the guide lever 411 .
  • an arm biasing spring 414 C for biasing the distal end (i.e., end adjacent to the left wall 10 B) of the 8 cm arm toward the front face 10 A is provided.
  • the arm biasing spring 414 C constantly biases the 8 cm arm 414 counterclockwise.
  • the 8 cm arm 414 biases the guide lever 411 such that the guide pin 411 B returns to an initial state to be positioned at a distal position of the oblique groove 415 C of the leading guide groove 415 .
  • the push arm 416 is rotatably provided on the bridge plate 413 near the left wall 10 B.
  • the push arm 416 which is longitudinally formed, is provided with the pin locking groove 416 A (engaging groove) that extends from a first longitudinal end of the push arm 416 to the supporting position of the push arm 416 .
  • the pin locking groove 416 A accepts insertion of the rotation-restricting pin 411 C provided on the guide portion 411 A when the guide pin 411 B of the guide lever 411 moves along the arc groove 415 A of the leading guide groove 415 .
  • the push arm 416 When the guide lever 411 is further moved toward the left wall 10 B and the rotation-restricting pin 411 C pushes the pin locking groove 416 A, the push arm 416 is rotated toward the left wall 10 B. Where facing the right wall 10 C, the push arm 416 is additionally provided with a press piece 416 B that downwardly protrudes. The press piece 416 B is brought into abutment with a push stopper 424 D of the later-described slide stopper 424 while the optical disc 1 is clamped on (i.e., held by) the turntable 23 , such that the push arm 416 is further rotated toward the left wall 10 B as shown in FIG. 2C . With this arrangement, the guide lever 411 is moved away from the periphery of the optical disc 1 , so that a predetermined clearance is formed between the guide portion 411 A of the guide lever 411 and the optical disc 1 .
  • a push arm-biasing spring 416 C biasing unit
  • the push arm-biasing spring 416 C inwardly biases the push arm 416 (in other words, biases the guide lever 411 toward the optical disc 1 while the rotation restricting pin 411 C is in engagement with the pin locking groove 416 A) and inwardly rotates the push arm 416 when the slide stopper 424 is moved away from the press piece 416 B.
  • the push arm-biasing spring 416 C inwardly biases a front portion the guide lever 411 (i.e., portion adjacent to the front face 10 A).
  • the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 does not protrude toward the left wall 10 B when the guide lever 411 is moved, whereby the guide lever 411 can be moved without problems.
  • the disc-diameter detecting mechanism 42 removes movement restriction of the guide lever 411 of the disc guide mechanism 41 when the optical disc 1 inserted in the slot 11 is the large-diameter disc 1 A while restricting the movement of the guide lever 411 when the inserted optical disc 1 is the small-diameter disc 1 B.
  • the disc-diameter detecting mechanism 42 includes: a load arm 421 (detector) whose first end abuts on the optical disc 1 and whose second end is rotatable relative to the unit body 10 ; and an arm link mechanism 422 connected to the load arm 421 for removing the movement restriction of the guide lever 411 when the rotation angle of the load arm 421 is large while restricting the movement of the guide lever 411 when the rotation angle of the load arm 421 is small.
  • the first end of the load arm 421 is provided with a roller-type abutment portion 421 A for abutting on the periphery of the optical disc 1 while the second end of the load arm 421 is rotatably supported by the unit body 10 .
  • the load arm 421 which is made of an elongated rectangular plate member, includes a guide groove 421 B that extends along the longitudinal direction of the load arm 421 .
  • the load arm 421 is biased by a biasing unit (not shown) clockwise so as to return to the initial position as shown in FIG. 1 .
  • the arm link mechanism 422 includes: a substantially-tabular link arm 423 whose first end is provided with a projection 423 A guided by the guide groove 421 B; and the substantially-tabular slide stopper 424 (restricting unit) whose first end is coupled to the link arm 423 .
  • the load arm 421 and the link arm 423 are located adjacently to the right wall 10 C inside the unit body 10 and disposed on substantially the same plane as the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 of the disc guide mechanism 41 .
  • a second end of the link arm 423 which is supported in a manner rotatable around a rotary shaft 423 B fixed on the unit body 10 , is provided with an engaging projection 423 C positioned to be opposite to the projection 423 A relative to the rotary shaft 423 B.
  • the second end of the link arm 423 (the end where the engaging projection 423 C is provided) is provided with a biasing unit (not shown) for biasing the link arm 423 toward the right wall 10 C.
  • the load arm 421 is inwardly biased, i.e., biased clockwise.
  • the slide stopper 424 which is disposed below the bridge plate 413 to be closer to the rear face 10 D than the turntable 23 , is movable both in the right and left directions in the drawing(s).
  • a right end of the slide stopper 424 is provided with an oblique abutment portion 424 A that is oblique to the inserting/ejecting direction of the optical disc 1 for abutting on the engaging projection 423 C.
  • the link arm 423 is also rotated, such that the engaging projection 423 C is moved toward the front face 10 A to press the oblique abutment portion 424 A abutting the engaging projection 423 C, thereby sliding the slide stopper 424 toward the right wall 10 C.
  • the slide stopper 424 is provided with a restricting stopper 424 B adapted to partially block the arm restricting groove 413 A of the bridge plate 413 .
  • the restricting stopper 424 B clears the arm restricting groove 413 A, so that the arm restricting pin 414 A of the 8 cm arm 414 can be moved along the groove 413 A.
  • the restricting stopper 424 B blocks the arm restricting groove 413 A, thereby preventing the movement of the arm restricting pin 414 A.
  • the slide stopper 424 Adjacently to the front face 10 A, the slide stopper 424 is provided with a cam interlocking groove 424 C adapted to interlock with the second driving cam 45 . With this arrangement, when the second driving cam 45 is moved, the slide stopper 424 is also moved in the right-and-left direction. Adjacently to the left wall 10 B, the slide stopper 424 is provided with the push stopper 424 D. When the slide stopper 424 is moved toward the left wall 10 B by the movement of the second driving cam 45 , the push stopper 424 D abuts on the press piece 416 B of the push arm 416 to restrict the rotation of the push arm 416 .
  • the ejection-restricting window 424 E includes an ejection-restricting groove 424 E 1 for the large-diameter disc and an ejection-restricting groove 424 E 2 for the small-diameter disc that extend in the right-and-left direction.
  • the slide stopper 424 is moved toward the left wall 10 B by the movement of the second driving cam 45 , the ejection-restricting grooves 424 E 1 , 424 E 2 are engaged with an ejection-restricting pin 431 A of the later-described assist arm 431 , thereby restricting the rotation of the assist arm 431 .
  • the ejection-restricting grooves 424 E 1 , 424 E 2 each have a distal end that is sloped in a direction to be away from the turntable 23 . By engaging the sloped portions of the distal ends with the ejection-restricting pin 431 A, a clearance can be secured between the ejection arm 434 and the optical disc 1 .
  • the disc ejecting mechanism 43 presses the optical disc 1 toward the slot 11 for ejection.
  • the disc ejecting mechanism 43 includes the assist arm 432 and the ejection arm 432 .
  • the assist arm 431 which is rotatably provided on the bride plate 413 near the right wall 10 C, includes the ejection restricting pin 431 A engageable with an assist restricting groove 413 B. With this arrangement, the rotation region of the assist arm 431 is restricted to the assist restricting groove 413 B.
  • the ejection restricting pin 431 A which is inserted in the ejection restricting window 424 E, is engaged with the ejection restricting groove 424 E 1 for the large-diameter disc or the ejection restricting groove 424 E 2 for the small-diameter disc due to the movement of the slide stopper 424 , thereby restricting the rotation of the assist arm 431 .
  • An end of the assist arm 431 adjacent to the left wall 10 B is provided with a gear 431 B.
  • the assist arm 431 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) counterclockwise, i.e., a direction in which the gear 431 B is turned toward the front face 10 A.
  • the ejection arm 432 which is rotatably provided on the bridge plate 413 as described above, includes: a gear portion 432 A located below the bridge plate 413 while sandwiching the bridge plate 413 against the ejection arm 432 ; and a longitudinal arm 432 B located above the bridge plate 413 .
  • the gear portion 432 A is meshed with the gear 431 B of the assist arm 431 and biased clockwise by biasing force of the assist arm 431 .
  • the biasing force biases the arm 432 B clockwise, i.e., a direction to press the optical disc 1 to the slot 11 .
  • a distal end of the arm 432 B is provided with a roller-type abutment portion 432 C for abutting on the periphery of the optical disc 1 .
  • an arm controlling projection 432 D is provided at a position opposite to the arm 432 B relative to the rotary center of the ejection arm 432 .
  • the arm controlling projection 432 D abuts on the periphery of the 8 cm arm 414 when the ejection arm 432 is rotated.
  • the first driving cam 44 and the second driving cam 45 are respectively provided with engaging grooves that are engaged with locking cam projections (not shown) formed on two laterals of the mount 21 .
  • the first driving cam 44 and the second driving cam 45 which are elongated members, are advanced and retracted by a motor and a gear mechanism (not shown) along the longitudinal direction. With this arrangement, the mount 21 is swung so as to be closer to or away from the recording surface of the optical disc 1 mounted on the turntable 23 .
  • the link arm 423 and the first driving cam 44 each include a disc transferring cam 51 for decreasing a transfer amount of the optical disc 1 to be transferred to the turntable 23 when the optical disc 1 is the large-diameter disc 1 A and for increasing the transfer amount of the optical disc 1 to be transferred to the turntable 23 when the optical disc 1 is the small-diameter disc 1 B.
  • the disc transferring cam 51 includes a projection 52 provided on the link arm 423 , and a cam groove 53 provided on the first driving cam 44 to be engageable with the projection 52 .
  • the cam groove 53 includes: a first cam groove 53 A for transferring the large-diameter disc 1 A; a second cam groove 53 B for transferring the small-diameter disc 1 B; and a common cam groove 53 C whose one end is linked with the first cam groove 53 A and the second cam groove 53 B.
  • the first cam groove 53 A and the second cam grove 53 B extend in a direction of the movement of the first driving cam 44 .
  • the second driving cam 45 which is coupled to the first driving cam 44 , advances and retracts in the right-and-left direction in interlock with the advancement and retraction of the first driving cam 44 .
  • a sensor (not shown) detects that the center of the optical disc 1 is located above the turntable 23
  • the first driving cam 44 is moved toward the rear face 10 D and the second driving cam 45 is moved toward the left wall 10 B.
  • the movement of the second driving cam 45 moves the mount 21 closer to the recording surface of the optical disc 1 , such that the optical disc 1 is clamped on the turntable 23 .
  • the turntable 23 is rotated in this state, such that information is recorded and/or reproduced in or from the optical disc 1 .
  • FIG. 3 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disk unit when the insertion of the large-diameter disc is initiated or when the ejection of the large-diameter disc is completed.
  • FIG. 4 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disk unit when the large-diameter disc is being transferred.
  • FIG. 5 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disk unit when a disc (large-diameter disc) has been inserted.
  • FIG. 6 is a top view showing the inside of the unit body of the disk unit when the large-diameter disc has been clamped on the turntable.
  • the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A laterally abuts on the slide contact surface 412 B of the disc guide 412 as shown in FIG. 4 , thereby rotating the disc guide 412 toward the left wall 10 B.
  • the guide lever 411 is also pressed toward the rear face 10 D, thereby moving the guide pin 411 B from the oblique groove 415 C and the linear groove 415 B of the leading guide groove 415 to the arc groove 415 A.
  • the guide lever 411 is moved toward the left wall 10 B while remaining substantially parallel to the disc inserting/ejecting direction, so that the guide portion 411 A guides the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C of the guide portion 411 A is engaged with the pin locking groove 416 A of the push arm 416 at this time, such that the push arm 416 is also rotated toward the left wall 10 B.
  • the inwardly-biased load arm 421 i.e., biased clockwise
  • the load arm 421 presses the large-diameter disc 1 A from the front face 10 A toward the rear face 10 D by the biasing force applied on the load arm 421 .
  • the guide lever 411 When the half or more of the large-diameter disc 1 A subsequently passes the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 , the guide lever 411 is slanted by the inwardly-biased plate spring 411 D such that a portion of the lever 411 adjacent to the front face 10 A inwardly protrudes, thereby guiding the large-diameter disc 1 A further into the unit body 10 .
  • the mount 21 is upwardly moved by the movement of the first driving cam 44 and the second driving cam 45 , such that the large-diameter disc 1 A is clamped on the turntable 23 as shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the insertion of the large-diameter disc 1 A presses an insertion detecting switch (not shown), such that the first driving cam 44 moved toward the front face 10 A.
  • the projection 52 is inserted into the first cam groove 53 A of the first driving cam 44 , thereby fixing the position of load arm 421 while maintaining a clearance between the load arm 421 and the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the second driving cam 52 is also moved toward the left wall 10 B in interlock with the movement of the first driving cam 44 . Then, the mount 21 is upwardly moved in interlock with the first and second driving cams 44 , 45 , thereby clamping the large-diameter disc 1 A on the turntable 23 .
  • the slide stopper 424 By moving the second driving cam 45 toward the left wall 10 B, the slide stopper 424 is also moved toward the left wall 10 B. With this operation, the push stopper 424 D presses the press piece 416 B of the push arm 416 toward the left wall 10 B, thereby restricting the movement of the push arm 416 .
  • the guide lever 411 whose rotation-restricting pin 411 C has been locked with the pin locking groove 416 A, is consequently pressed toward the left wall 10 B, thereby providing a clearance of a predetermined size between the guide lever 411 and the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the ejection restricting pin 431 A of the assist arm 431 is engaged with the ejection-restricting groove 424 E 1 for the large-diameter disc by the movement of the slide stopper 424 , thereby restricting the movement of the abutment portion 432 C of the ejection arm 432 while providing a clearance of a predetermined size between the abutment portion 432 C and the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the first driving cam 44 is initially moved toward the rear face 10 D, such that the second driving cam 45 is also moved toward the right wall 10 C in interlock with the first driving cam 44 .
  • the mount 21 is downwardly moved to stop clamping the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the slide stopper 424 is also moved toward the right wall 10 C, such that the push stopper 424 D is moved away from the push arm 416 .
  • the push arm 416 is inwardly rotated (i.e., toward the right wall 10 C) by the biasing force of the push arm-biasing spring 416 C.
  • the guide portion 411 A of the guide lever 411 abuts on the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A to hold the optical disc 1 A.
  • the ejection arm 432 and the load arm 421 also become free from the movement restriction in the same manner to hold the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the biasing force of the ejection arm 432 presses the large-diameter disc 1 A toward the front face 10 A.
  • the pressing portion 412 C of the disc guide 412 presses the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A toward the front face 10 A.
  • the guide pin 411 B is pressed by the 8 cm arm 414 toward the front face 10 A to pass the linear groove 415 B
  • the guide lever 411 is also pressed toward the front face 10 A.
  • the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 inwardly protrudes along the rotation arc of the disc guide 412 , such that the guide lever 411 is slanted.
  • the end of the guide lever 411 adjacent to the front face 10 A can press the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the guide pin 411 B further passes the oblique groove 415 C, the guide lever 411 is moved to protrude more inwardly, thereby promoting the ejection of the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the first driving cam 44 is further moved toward the rear face 10 D, such that the projection 52 is engaged with the common cam groove 53 C and the load arm 421 is inwardly rotated.
  • the rotation of the load arm 421 presses the large-diameter disc 1 A toward the front face 110 A, thereby ejecting the large-diameter disc 1 A.
  • the disc unit 100 includes the push arm 416 for providing the predetermined clearance between the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A and the guide lever 411 by moving the guide lever 411 for guiding the insertion and ejection of the large-diameter disc 1 A toward the left wall 10 B when the large-diameter disc 1 A is clamped on the turntable 23 .
  • the guide lever 411 does not hinder the rotation of the large-diameter disc 1 A. Accordingly, the large-diameter disc 1 A can be favorably clamped, thereby avoiding such errors as a reading error due to the rotation hindrance.
  • the push arm 416 is inwardly biased, i.e., biased to be rotated toward the mounting position of the large-diameter disc 1 A, by the push arm-biasing spring 416 C.
  • the guide lever 411 is constantly biased inwardly by the push arm 416 . Accordingly, the guide lever 411 can reliably hold the large-diameter disc 1 A and also favorably guide the large-diameter disc 1 A with the guide portion 411 A.
  • the first end of the push arm 416 is rotatable relative to the bridge plate 413 while the second end of the push arm 416 is inwardly biased by the push arm-biasing spring 416 C. Accordingly, the movement region of the push arm 416 can be made small, such that the movement of the guide lever 411 can be restricted with a simple arrangement.
  • the push arm 416 includes the pin locking groove 416 A with which the rotation-restricting pin 411 C provided on the guide lever 411 is engaged.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is engaged with the pin locking groove 416 A to restrict the movement of the guide lever 411 .
  • the push arm 416 can restrict the movement of the guide lever 411 by simply engaging the rotation-restricting pin 411 C of the guide lever 411 with the groove 416 A.
  • the disc unit 100 in which the guide lever 411 is moved along the arc groove 415 A substantially parallel to the inserting/ejecting direction of the optical disc 1 , employs the above-described push arm 416 that includes the rotatably-mounted first end and the pin locking groove 416 A extending from its second end to the rotary center. Accordingly, by engaging the rotation-restricting pin 411 C of the guide lever 411 with the pin locking groove 416 A, the push arm 416 can restrict the movement of the guide lever 411 with the minimum movement. Thus, the size of the push arm 416 can be reduced and the arrangement can be simplified, thereby contributing to size reduction and thickness reduction of the disc unit 100 .
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is provided on the guide lever 411 adjacently to the front face 10 A. With this arrangement, the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 is prevented from being rotated outwardly, i.e., toward the left wall 10 B.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is positioned not to interfere with the mount 21 when the guide lever 411 is guiding the small-diameter disc 1 B. Specifically, even the mount 21 is upwardly moved to clamp the small-diameter disc 1 B on the turntable 23 , the rotation-restricting pin 411 C does not contact the mount 21 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent errors such as a clamping error caused by contacting of the mount 21 and the rotation-restricting pin 411 C or an information-processing error of the small-diameter disc 1 B.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C to be engaged with the pin locking groove 416 A of the push arm 416 is exemplarily provided on the guide lever 411 adjacently to the front face 10 A, positioned not to interfere with the mount 21 and protrudes downwardly in the above embodiment, the arrangement of the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is not limited thereto.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C may be provided on the guide lever 411 adjacently to the front face 10 A.
  • the push arm 416 may be provided at an upper position corresponding to the rotation-restricting pin 411 C.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C is provided on the guide lever 411 adjacently to the front face 10 A, the pin 411 C may be provided thereon adjacently to the rear face 10 D.
  • another rotation-restricting member or another biasing member for preventing the outward protrusion and outward rotation of the connecting portion may be provided.
  • the rotation-restricting pin 411 C of the guide lever 411 is exemplarily engaged with the pin locking groove 416 A provided to the push arm 416 in the above embodiment
  • another arrangement may be employed in which, for example, a locking pin is provided on the push arm 416 while a groove to be engaged with this pin is formed on the guide lever 411 .
  • the push arm 416 since the pin does not interfere with the mount, the push arm 416 may be provided more adjacently to the front face 10 A. With this arrangement, the outward rotation of the connecting portion of the guide lever 411 and the disc guide 412 can be more reliably prevented.
  • the arrangement of the push arm 416 is not limited thereto.
  • the push arm 416 may be, for instance, a member that is moved parallel in the same direction as the right-and-left direction of the guide lever 411 . By moving such a member toward the left wall 10 B while being engaged with the rotation-restricting pin 411 C of the guide lever 411 , the guide lever 411 can be moved toward the left wall 10 B.
  • slide stopper 424 exemplarily serves as the movement restricting member
  • the arrangement is not limited thereto.
  • a mount interlocking member connected to the mount 21 for moving the push arm 416 toward the left wall 10 B in accordance with the up-and-down movement of the mount 21 may be provided.
  • the disc unit 100 includes the push arm 416 for providing the predetermined clearance between the periphery of the large-diameter disc 1 A and the guide lever 411 by moving the guide lever 411 for guiding the insertion and ejection of the large-diameter disc 1 A toward the left wall 10 B when the large-diameter disc 1 A is clamped on the turntable 23 .
  • the guide lever 411 does not hinder the rotation of the large-diameter disc 1 A. Accordingly, the large-diameter disc 1 A can be favorably clamped, thereby avoiding such errors as a reading error due to the rotation hindrance.
  • the present invention is applicable to a transfer unit for inserting and ejecting a disc recording medium and a recording-medium driver provided with the transfer unit.

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  • Feeding And Guiding Record Carriers (AREA)
US12/083,225 2005-10-12 2006-10-02 Conveyance Device and Recording Meduim Drive Device Abandoned US20090235287A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2005297728 2005-10-12
JP2005-297728 2005-10-12
PCT/JP2006/319663 WO2007043375A1 (ja) 2005-10-12 2006-10-02 搬送装置、および記録媒体駆動装置

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20080168482A1 (en) * 2004-10-29 2008-07-10 Eiji Hoshinaka Recording Medium Driving Device

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5416763A (en) * 1992-02-25 1995-05-16 Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood Loading mechanism for optical disk player
US6512730B1 (en) * 1999-07-14 2003-01-28 Lg Electronics Inc. Disk receiving and transferring device for a disk drive
US20060190949A1 (en) * 2005-02-23 2006-08-24 Tohei Industrial Co., Ltd. Disk storage medium processing apparatus

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH05225674A (ja) * 1992-02-17 1993-09-03 Ricoh Co Ltd 光情報再生装置
JP3891422B2 (ja) * 2002-10-29 2007-03-14 オリオン電機株式会社 ディスク装置におけるディスク搬入及びクランプ動作の動力伝動機構

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5416763A (en) * 1992-02-25 1995-05-16 Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood Loading mechanism for optical disk player
US6512730B1 (en) * 1999-07-14 2003-01-28 Lg Electronics Inc. Disk receiving and transferring device for a disk drive
US20060190949A1 (en) * 2005-02-23 2006-08-24 Tohei Industrial Co., Ltd. Disk storage medium processing apparatus

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20080168482A1 (en) * 2004-10-29 2008-07-10 Eiji Hoshinaka Recording Medium Driving Device
US7984459B2 (en) * 2004-10-29 2011-07-19 Pioneer Corporation Recording medium driving device having an improved disc feeding mechanism

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JPWO2007043375A1 (ja) 2009-04-16
WO2007043375A1 (ja) 2007-04-19
JP4335948B2 (ja) 2009-09-30

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Effective date: 20080327

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